Drink Days of Gold Together
by drcalvin
Summary: Zoro reflects on choices made and realizes that he needs something more from his captain. Love, loneliness and discoveries beneath the sea.  Zoro/Luffy yaoi/slash!  complete
1. Chapter 1

**Author**: drcalvin

**Characters/Pairing**: Zoro/Luffy

**Rating: **R

**Summary: **Zoro reflects on choices made and realizes that he needs something more from his captain. Love, loneliness and discoveries beneath the sea.

**Theme:** #60 bright (for 64damn_prompts)

**Warnings/Spoilers:** No warnings. Spoilers up to and including Fishman Island arc.

**Acknowledgments: **Most excellent beta by _loveandallthat_! Blame remaining goofs on me.

* * *

><p><strong>Drink Days of Gold Together<strong>

"So, Luffy. Wanna have sex?"

"Nope."

The Captain of the Strawhat pirates barely stopped shoveling deep-sea delicacies into his mouth long enough to answer. When he sensed Zoro still beside him, his aura growing darker by the minute, Luffy hurried to swallow and continued: "I'm _eating_! We're leaving in two days and there's still so much food I haven't tried yet!"

Issue settled in his mind, Luffy stretched through the large dining hall and snatched himself another piece of sauteed meat.

While Zoro still looked a bit grumpy, it didn't seem worse than usual and after a while he picked up his sake bottle and drank deeply. He drummed his fingers on the bottle for a while, before glancing back at Luffy. Seeing that his captain's face was smeared with sauce and he'd managed to get some fish bones stuck in his hair, Zoro rolled his eye at the display. Finally, he emptied the bottle and turned to face Luffy directly.

"Why do I even... Look, I didn't mean right now, idiot."

"Oh." Luffy took a few moments to gnaw out the marrow of a particularly juice bone, before he nodded. "Okay, sure."

"Uh... Really?"

"Mhm, just lemme finish dinner. Ohh, lobster cakes!"

Looking slightly taken aback at the quick decision, Zoro fumbled along the table until he found more liquor. Luffy threw himself back into eating with full enthusiasm while Zoro stayed next to him and finished off the sake with slightly wild-eyed determination. As the evening wore on and Luffy even took the time to throw him a few smiles between eating, his shoulders relaxed and the beginnings of a smile spread on his face.

After their exciting arrival to Fishman Island, the Strawhat pirates had spent four peaceful days recuparating in luxury. Though nothing beat the first extravagant banquet, every evening had contained enough undersea delicacies to sate even Luffy.

During these days, the pirates had been offered private rooms in Ryûgû Palace and been shown one amazing sight after the other. Despite being grateful for King Neptune's generosity, the Strawhat crew somehow found themselves cosying up in groups every evening, following Luffy's whims as to which room they would pick for the night.

Zoro couldn't speak for the others, but he was fairly sure that their reasoning was similar to his own. The need to keep an eye on newly regathered friends was strong after two long years of missing their annoying noises and unique quirks. Even while Brook grumbled as Luffy stumbled on his leg (bone) while shambling away to grab himself a midnight snack, or Usopp and Sanji pelted Franky with pillows for the metallic rattle of his snores, they stayed together. All of them preferred it this way, even it it meant that some of the crew had to to sleep on the floor rather than enjoy the soft beds the staff had prepared for them.

While Zoro was used to bedding down on the ground (leaning against King Neptune's coral walls downright comfy compared to some places he'd slept) he didn't actively prefer the floor to a bed. On the second night, he had therefore given his own room a try. With a vague idea that he ought to take advantage of a proper mattress, free from ghosts and surprise attacks in the name of training, before it was back to bunk beds, Zoro left the raucous crew.

Ryûgû palace was a marvel, nature and architecture mixing in impossible ways to create a dream world and each guestroom had unique decorations gathered from the depths. To the swordsman of the Strawhat Pirates had been given a room with memories of warriors from earlier ages.

In the window stood crimson statue, an armless youth in armor that had made Nami's eyes alight with greed when she spotted it during their tour of the palace. According to their guide, it drew its vibrant color from the thousand souls gone aground in the treacherous waters of the New World.

At that time, Zoro had been more interested in the weapon hung above the bed: an ancient, chipped sword. It was, they were told, kept to remember a swordsman who served the King of the Sea with honor and courage far beyond his duty.

Now, backlit by the last rays of the setting sun, the statue seemed to glow with inner fire, its empty eyes almost flickering with life. Even Zoro, generally acknowledged to not be the most poetic of souls, was caught by the play of light.

Blood and fire; like the murals depicting sea-battles and the golden decor gathered from sunken galleons, the statue was a constant reminder of what lay beyond the idyll of Fishman Island. The most dangerous of all the seas: the New World. There, Mihawk had told him, the weak did not even have time to utter a prayer before they were swallowed by the hungry depths. A sea where the waves were tinged the color of blood and lost souls drifted in cold streams, their broken dreams keeping them from the final rest.

There, beyond storms and treacherous waters, waited the fulfillment of all their dreams.

With a soft click, the door slid shut beyond Zoro. As soon as it closed, the air in the room stilled utterly. Surrounded by water in most directions, coupled with the sealing effect of the bubbles created by the corals, hardly any sound carried between rooms in Ryûgû palace.

For a moment, Zoro was disconcerted by the lack of sound. Never mind the constant noise of the Strawhats, here was not even the steady rhythm of waves against the ship. No creaking planks, no rope and canvas straining against the wind, none of the sounds of the living sea. Within an hour of his return to the Sunny, Zoro had grown used to their presence and had dismissed the noise from his conscious mind. During the eventful days on the island, he had not felt their lack, until now. Without a wind to stir the air, the room felt more stifling than when they had crowded in here during the tour. With no shifting deck beneath his feet, the rich hues flowed together, became a gilded cage and the weight of the fathoms above bore down on him. In this silent room, an undersea grave to old dreams, there were no annoying snores, no bickering or laughter and no warmth.

Not thinking twice, Zoro turned around and returned to the room Luffy had picked for the evening. He entered silently and slumped down by the doorpost. A short nod to acknowledge his captain's happy wave before he leaned against smooth coral, his hand relaxing against the handles of his swords.

The room was full of noise; familiar, wonderfully annoying noise. There was Sanji's disturbing little groans when he dreamed of mermaids, Franky's rumbling snores and Brook's hummed lullabies. From outside, he heard a familiar tread and pushed the door open with a foot. Nami yawned and gave them a sloppy wave on her way to the bathroom. Luffy's cheerful 'Good night!' and the grumbling it caused from Usopp followed Zoro into peaceful dreams.

The next morning, a suspicious amount of giggling escaped from the girls' room until Chopper turned up with a massive amount of bows decorating his glossy coat. Though Zoro joined the others in politely ignoring the sight (at least until they were trapped out on the sea and someone felt bored enough to tease the reindeer for ever agreeing to wear lilac bows on his horns), he found it comforting that even cool Robin and practical Nami were being a bit extra clingy right now.

If the Strawhat crew could sleep surrounded by colorful treasures each night, their days were no less vivid. They'd all talked and laughed; oh, how they had laughed during that first banquet and their joy only grew as the days grew on and the next adventure came closer.

It was this gentle laughter, more than anything else, which seeped into Zoro, hurting and warming him simultaneously. The laughter of his friends opened a thousand invisible cracks, wounds he'd been carrying so long that he'd stopped noticing them ages ago. While he couldn't pinpoint where they came from, he suspected they might be the last remains of the pain from Thriller Bark, which had finally shattered him beneath swaying Yarukiman trees and torn him from his companions for too long.

Or simpy the compounded stress of training beneath empty yellow eyes for two years.

No, it wouldn't surprise Zoro in the least if his newfound need for company grew out of the gloomy days and painful nights on Kuraigana. Nights when he had lain wounded and exhausted, wondering if his soul would wither away even as his physical strength grew, until he was left as empty as one of the girl's falsely laughing ghosts. He'd have paid that price willingly, of course; weighing Roronoa Zoro's soul against the bright memory of his captain's laughter and the crew's songs, there was no question of which to choose.

Yet, it was the one price Mihawk had never demanded. And he had asked for everything else: the humiliation of coming up against your own uncrossable boundaries, the pain of breaking through them again and again. And, most bitter of all, the taste of defeat when each new achievement turned hollow, his opponent still gazing down at him from the height of a soaring hawk, so very far away.

At those times, the darkness around him had been blessing and curse alike. On the bad days, when only worn pride made him hold up the stoic facade around Perona, her gleeful laughter false echoes from better, sunnier times, then the silence of the black woods were a relief. When he lost his temper, when Mihawk's voice became tinged with contempt and he admonished Zoro for his childish lack of control, the shadows cooled him off. Once the Humandrills learned to avoid him, the dark island refused to present targets for Zoro's to take out his frustrations on. Instead, he found his rages turn inward, slowly solidifying into a white-hot fire of determination.

Instead of railing against his own weakness, crushing stones and punishing his body until he couldn't stand up, he found it possible to step back from his fury. Because even when Mihawk mocked, he offered valuable advice. Though it remained a struggle, Zoro found himself increasingly able to look back at each bitter loss and pinpoint the moment where the balance tipped in his opponents favor. Now and then, he could almost sense the other road, the one where _his_ swords had set the pace.

Beneath that gray sky, Zoro had been driven deep inside himself, found strength and endurance he had only dreamed of in more carefree days. And if the price was that he, the solitary Pirate Hunter, now knew exactly what the sunlit world was worth? If he could no longer feel entirely satisfied with only his own company, if the silence that used to comfort him became only the gaping lack of cherished presences? For his dreams, it was a price he was willing to pay.

After all, he had already paid dearly, and not just in the scars and aches he expected as a boy.

The Roronoa Zoro who had tempered his self in preparation for the New World would've had nothing but pity for the naive young man who wandered away from his home some four years ago. Then, he'd carried one dream, two inferior blades and the conviction that he could defeat any foe.

The blades had been broken long ago. The security of easy victory was taken from him again and again. Though he still clung to his dream, the darkness of Kuraigana had shown Zoro that he needed something more than a longing for strength, if his opponent wasn't to cut him apart and defeat his very soul.

Three lights had kept him striving: the familiar white of his sword, the bloodied red of his distant goal and, shining ever brighter inside of him, the sunny yellow of a battered old straw hat. In the seemingly endless gloom,which he only realized just _how_ much he despised when Perona led him out onto the blue sea, they'd kept him from faltering.

And while he would never have showed it to anyone, that mild sunlight – the knowledge that the same sun warmed and comforted his crewmates – managed to cut deeper than any physical swords.

There, during the journey to Sabaody he'd spent nights staring at the starlit sky while gentle waves rocked their boat. Looking up at eternity, Zoro had felt complete peace. The sun would rise soon, warm and familiar over a blue sea. His arms were stronger than ever, his swords were sharp and he had come out of the darkness with the security that, though he might be defeated and driven back, nothing could break his spirit. The beauty of the sea around him, the friends that were waiting and the adventures they would experience – it was the taste of happiness and it made him drunker than all the sake in the world.

For a few short days, he'd basked in the same sense of confidence he'd felt when seventeen, so untested and arrogant. As if the Grand Line reflected his good mood, their small ship had enjoyed favorable winds and when Sabaody's impressive mangrove trees rose around them, Zoro could almost imagine that nothing would ever hurt them again.

Finally, when Zoro's anticipation had already caused his relaxed mood to change into slightly restless anticipation, his captain appeared. Luffy's laughter rang out amid battle and chaos, his smile glorious as ever. Untouchable joy, undefeated spirit... A perfect moment.

If Zoro hadn't known that even the brightest flame could be put out.

The wonder of Sabaody's trees dimmed. The sunlight which he had been soaking up since he left the dank island remained, but it could no longer drive all shadows from his mind. Even their mad dive into the sea and the fantastic sights that met them paled in comparisonto Luffy's laughter.

His captain had grown in spades, that much was obvious at one glance. Though Luffy carried new scars on his body and deep shadows hidden behind the strength of his soul, his self-confidence was as remarkable as ever. To Zoro, his inner light seemed much richer than two years ago.

Seeing him like that again, so alive and _happy _– Zoro's entire being hungered for him, the force of his desire comparable only to his lust for battle.

It was beyond frustrating. Wonderful, yes, but frustrating. On the one hand he felt, like all of them, almost giddy at meeting again. They were all eager for the next adventure and his swords hungered for new challenges. At the same time, so much came back to him upon seeing Luffy again: the weight of his responsibilities, the burden of his failures and a silent, poisonous fear, cold like Kuraigana's starless night.

Every fire could be put out.

When Luffy spoke, when he saw him fight and laugh, the world turned so vibrant that it almost stung and his blades seemed to sing in his hands. His captain's voice was a balm against the darkness in Zoro, but increasingly, he sensed that it wasn't enough. Inside, there was a growing longing for something more: to touch Luffy, ensure that he was truly there. To breathe in his scent until it filled him completely, to listen to his heartbeat, keep him close and never quite let go again.

Yet part of him feared that further closeness would cause him to crack open, that the old wound would finally finish cleaving his heart in two. When Luffy beamed at him, when their hands brushed over a piece of fish, he knew it was far too late. Darkness hadn't crushed him, but this joy cut too deep to ever fully heal again.

Though there was a storm inside of Zoro, nobody seemed notice it. Not too surprising; he'd had an amazing teacher in concealing his true thoughts. There had been the chaos of their escape and battle, the marvels of the sea... Now, though, when they were catching their breath, Zoro felt as if the hair-fine cracks grew with every moment of warmt, stabbing with joy until all of him would wither apart.

What peace and stability he found came from the rest of the crew. The Strawhats were reaching for each other, all eager to connect anew. Together again, but now they knew the risks of the journey and it made them even more determined to live each moment to its fullest.

Franky had time work on his ship again, was happy to discuss improvements with the brother of his old master. His voice boomed as he asked Zoro wanted any changes to the gym and the world righted itself around that loud presence. Brook's joy at playing his most famous hits to a brand new audience was infectious and Zoro found himself humming the silly, cheerful tunes at the oddest moments. If he faltered, if his confusion grew too heavy, he felt a skeletal shadow at his side, sharing the support of one who knew even deeper darkness and was determined to fight it with brightness every step of the way. There was Usopp, who came up to him with a grin worthy of the captain himself and joined him in lifting weights. He kept up with Zoro's pace for almost an hour, his familiar chatter a comfort and a remainder that even if they faltered, they couldn't be completely torn apart. And the cook, of course, someone to scream at and fight with. They had loud and pointless fights, reminding them that they were safe and could be just that – stupid, loud and thoughtless. Without swords or danger, without the nihilistic cruelty always present in yellow eyes.

Slowly, they got to know Jimbei as well. The Fishman visited them often to speak and listen, his presence hinting at solid power and a stable soul. Zoro learned to recognize his gait and breathing, taught himself to relax around the man and knew that when the time came, Jimbei would find room on the Thousand Sunny's little world.

Around them, the kingdom was rebuilt. Between them, dormant ties where renewed and strengthened. While Luffy healed and the sea-folk celebrated, Zoro spent an embarrassing amount of time following the young pirate with his gaze, wanting what he could not quite put a name to.

It wasn't until they'd already spent several days on Fishman Island that accidental words set him on the right track.

He'd been trying to meditate, but really only managing to hide a too sappy smile while watching the younger crew being silly with mermaids from the cafe.

"I don't understand why he doesn't just ask them," Franky said beside him. They were sitting in one of the private rooms of the cafe, relaxing and enjoying Madame Shirley's coffee.

"Hmm?" Robin looked up from a scroll she had borrowed from the palace library. "I didn't quite catch that."

"I mean, look at them!"

Robin and Zoro looked in the direction their shipwright gestured, where Sanji was being his usual fawning self over the mermaids. While he no longer bled life-threatening amounts, his eyes were still full of hearts when he ogled the women. One could almost see the waves of desire emanating from him as the mermaids giggled and ruffled his hair, sometimes going so far as hugging "the funny little man".

"Now, I know there are girls you have to be all delicate with or they'll be frightfully offended. But far as I see it, these super sisters can take a polite question in the spirit it's given! Don't know that they'd say yes, but he's not even asking, just..."

"Noodling," Zoro muttered. Damn silly cook.

"Yep, good one Zoro-bro! I don't get it! Man's clearly got a thing for mermaids, but has he popped a friendly 'wanna fuck' yet? Naw! We'll leave before he works up the guts to actually ask!"

While Zoro choked on his coffeeRobin's smile widened and she put her scroll away. She tapped her cheek with a finger while she observed Sanji's antics. "I think, for our cook the chase and distant worship is half the pleasure. Besides, how can he single out one from out of all these beauties?"

"Feh." Franky shook his head and pushed up his sunglasses. "Too much fluttering around can't be good for a red-blooded man, not even cook-bro."

"Ah, but not everyone is as proud of their pervert badge as you, Mr. Shipwright."

"Hey, who're you to talk about perverts, sis? I know where those hands have been, eh!"

Part of Zoro noted that, though he crossed his legs protectively, Franky's stance remained relaxed and Robin's answering chuckle was an obvious signal of how fond their teasing really was.

The other, major part of him was busy internally flailing in shock at the possibilities that had just opened up to him.

He could–

touch that warmth, hold him close and finally ensure his hungry hands that the captain was there, hale and healthy, know him beyond words and battles.

They could–

prove that the darkness hadn't swallowed them, share their warmth when sea winds blew too cold, when the challenges become heavy enough to break even the strongest back, rest; just rest together and hold each other safe.

Not even noticing that his half-eaten cake fell and stained his coat, Zoro rose and walked out of the cafe. He mumbled something to Madame Shirley; mouth providing an excuses without input from his brain, feet taking him away on a rambling walk that would sooner or later lead him to an area where he could train. It was too much right now, all the soft hues and brilliant colors, his captain's smile and even the closeness of the crew which he had been craving so for two empty years.

Just a few hours with his swords. Just a bit more silence, if there were no dark woods. Until his lungs hurt and his muscles burned with acid, then he'd find himself again. Zoro had always learned physically, beating knowledge into himself, training and meditating until the lessons of the day were carved into his body in a map only he could read (but oh, there was an idea, to show it one other person, to let him in...) and this revelation? It was too big for him, wasn't a thought his mind could encompass.

Once he'd fought through it, once the swords had carved open a clear path, once he could _understand_... Then they could meet. Talk. Then Zoro could put words to the storm inside and ask his questions. Try to accept whatever answer Luffy gave him.

"Well, I'll be..." Franky lifted up his sunglasses and gave Zoro's retreating shape a long, thoughtful look. Nobody had ever accused the shipwright of being the most observant of men, but it was hard to overlook it when the swordsman pretty much inhaled his coffee at Franky's little rant. That Zoro then locked his remaining eye on their playing captain for a solid minute, without even bothering to lower his cup or wipe the liquid off his chin... Well, Franky had always had a good head for maths and far as he could see, this added up to one answer only.

He turned to Robin. She too was looking at the swordsman, though the way she held her scroll made it look as if she was reading to the casual observer.

"Did you know about this?" he asked, absently sweeping away Zoro's pastry before anyone sat down on the mushy remains.

"Not as such." She cocked her head and shrugged, deceptively slim shoulders rippling with barely-seen muscle. "But does it honestly surprise you?"

At that, Franky threw his head back and laughed loud enough for even Sanji to look away from the mermaids for a short moment.

"Robin-sis, nothing surprises me about the Strawhats anymore!"

"Yeaah!"

"We're the best!"

Cheering, Luffy and Chopper joined them at the table, bringing more cake and hot chocolate and the afternoon passed in laughter and jokes.

A subdued Zoro joined them all later that evening. His hair was still wet from a swim and he seemed relaxed in the tired but sated way Franky had come to recognize as being two steps from falling asleep after intense training. Though he didn't speak much, content to collapse into bed and allow Chopper to use him as a pillow, Franky noticed how his breath only deepened into sleep once Luffy settled on his other side.

Ah, young love! Being the tough, manly cyborg that he was, soppy emotion wasn't really his thing, though he could appreciate the moment when two souls found each other – on a purely intellectual level, of course.

"Uh, Franky, why are you sobbing?"

"'m not crying! Bud id's so damn _sweed_!"

TBC...


	2. Chapter 2

It was their second-to-last night in the undersea palace.

Once the princess had taken her leave for the night, Luffy had turned to his crew and unleashed a truly brilliant grin. Tonight, he'd informed them, he and Zoro would sleep in a different room. No embarrassment, no awkwardness as he waved goodnight; that wasn't in Strawhat Luffy's nature.

The crew, gossiping bunch of harpies that they could be, managed to hide their reactions with frightening skill. Not the least intimidated by Zoro's glare, they wished all kept polite smiles pasted over their surely evil thoughts. Sanji's sudden coughing fit didn't count. Anyway, they all knew far too much about what turned the damn cook on and damn if a bit of payback wasn't sweet.

Nevertheless, Zoro felt heat rising on his cheeks. His back burned where Usopp and Nami's silent bogglement followed him out into the corridor. Only focusing on Luffy's springy steps kept him from breaking completely, fleeing back to something safe. Such as whirling around with three sharp swords until spots of exhaustion danced before his eyes.

How Luffy managed to move through life like with such careless ease, Zoro would never quite grasp. How a young man who'd seen so much darkness – because he had, a demon recognized the sight of another who'd travelled through hell – could come through it so whole, was too much for one poor swordsman to make sense of. It wasn't why he was here, anyway. Wasn't his job to ask those questions, only to lift the blade, defend and protect them all.

"Shishishi! Zoro's face looks funny when it's all scrunched up!"

It ached, hearing his captain laugh after two years of darkness where his only comfort had been a worn, too somber newspaper clipping. He was tired of waiting, tired of confusion and bone-breaking loneliness. Zoro snarled as he kicked the door shut and pulled Luffy close.

"Missed you," he managed. He knew he should speak, say something more and had at least a theoretical inkling of what one was supposed to do in this situation. Pretty words, earnest confessions and all that shit and he'd get to those, he would! He just needed to _touch_ first.

Make sure he was still here, because his captain carried a scar where he had almost been broken open. His brother's flame had gone out and Luffy's cry of pain had reached through the paper and torn into one lost soul on the island of darkness.

Of course Luffy had managed to stand up again; he always would. They were the Strawhat Pirates, they'd sail on and on until they caught up with legends. Except that sometimes, Zoro feared this brittle joy would drown him first.

Luffy kissed him. Sloppy, messy and overflowing with enthusiasm; much the same way he approached eating, fighting... life. Deceptively thin rubber legs pushing them both towards the bed and there was no longer space for words within Zoro.

"Missed you too," Luffy said before dissolving into giggles as Zoro flipped him over and tried to open his sash. Apparently he was more ticklish than he'd revealed before, a piece of information the swordsman put away in the Very Useful to Remember file.

Then Luffy's fingers were on his face, one almost slipping into his nostril before he pulled back and shook them off.

"Hey, hang on a minute."

But Luffy wouldn't give up, eyes staring at him with focused intent. "Hold still," he ordered, hands flitting over Zoro's chin, feeling along his ears and finally coming to rest on his face.

Fingertips along his temples, some hiding in his hair, and Luffy held him still and looked up at him. The old scar beneath his eye pulled taut when he smiled liked this, his usual vibrancy turned into compelling intensity and Zoro stilled above him.

Luffy kept staring at him, his eyes catching Zoro's gaze and around them, the world faded out of importance. The crew was safe, their enemies defeated. Fishman Island was still under threat from one of the most powerful pirates in the world, but for now, her rage had been redirected. Yes, that meant Big Mam's ire was waiting for the Strawhats on the unknown sea – but she wasn't here, now. Nor Marines nor Warlords; no enemies, no dangers, only his captain holding him fast, waiting for his racing mind to find that point of eternal now where true victories waited.

Luffy mouth was moving, words kept spilling out but Zoro paid them no heed. He watched the play of muscles beneath skin instead, listened to the low thrum of pulse and life in the hands anchoring him and let himself sink deeper into the sea of Luffy's heart.

Finally, he closed his eye, breathed out – let go – and was rewarded with a gentle kiss.

There wasn't any reason to keep the distance between them and Zoro sank down above Luffy, face cradled in warm hands, body welcomed. Soon, he felt rubbery legs wrap tightly around him, drawing him in, holding him close.

For once, Luffy didn't smell of food. Only the salty scent of the sea clung to him, eternal as the waves. When Zoro mouthed his cheek, pressed their lips together and buried his face in black hair, what he mostly smelled was the faint musk of Luffy himself. Not hurt, not feverish or battle-sweaty, just warm and clean and blessedly close.

They managed to kiss slower now, learning each other's mouths. The hunger in Zoro increased when his captain's breath hitched, when the limbs trapping him tightened and pressed him closer.

"Wanna get rid of these clothes?" His voice was steady, his hand didn't tremble, so why did Zoro feel as if he was about to shatter?

Perhaps Luffy heard the silent apprehension in his voice, saw all the desires and worries he couldn't quite disguise. Whatever the reason, his smile deepened and he leaned up, licking Zoro's throat with delicate swipes.

Zoro just about managed to keep his head together at that, surprise that his captain could even manage a move to describe as _delicate_ warring with a frighteningly strong drive to tear into Luffy. In some fuzzy way he wasn't exactly sure how to go about, but damn if he didn't want it right now.

Too much. It was easier to give up a bit of control, to allow Luffy to push him to the side. That was a good idea, they both discovered, now sashes and trousers easily opened. While Luffy threw his jacket away, Zoro slipped out of his robe, taking a moment to carefully put his swords aside.

They collided again, body-hunger and an unspoken need for closeness driving them both. Finally, Zoro could touch to his heart's desire. Luffy was warm against his skin, wriggling and making absolutely delectable noises. Their knees knocked together and their noses collided; but he could drink Luffy's laughter. Felt it vibrate through them both and with that, even their fumbles became hallowed.

"Let me," Zoro finally said, hands stroking all over his captain while heat buildt deep inside of him.

Wriggling, Luffy's giggles spilled from his lips like broken moonlight dancing on the waves, until he relaxed and allowed Zoro's careful investigation. His hair was rough with dried salt, but further down on his neck, Zoro found a few locks of fuzzy softness, stroking his finger over the point until Luffy groaned with impatience. Then he moved on, copying the other man's previous move and slowly licking his way down his throat.

Luffy was deeper toned than before, sunlight having filled his skin with warmth and color. Zoro kept tasting and catalogingthe unique saltiness that was Luffy, feeling the weird rubbery give in all parts of him, from softest cheeks down to his collarbone. Odd, but so uniquely his captain that he knew he'd desire it in every encounter from now on.

Yes, the time training among the Amazons had done him good, Zoro thought, gently nibbling along Luffy's shoulder, pressing his own nude body against the warm one beneath. His hands avoided the deep scar for now, instead teasing down his sides, feeling rippling muscles twitching with laughter again, sensing an echo inside of himself. One of Luffy's hands tugged warningly at his hair and Zoro poked him in the side; this was his inspection and he would be thorough. With a playfully pathetic sigh, Luffy abandoned his attempts to make the swordsman hurry up and began to play with his earrings instead. The usually familiar tinkle felt too loud in Zoro's ear and he shook his head in protest. Of course, that only made Luffy press his advantage, until he was forced to give up on tracing his captain's ribs one by one – at least for the moment.

Instead he lowered his mouth, kissing the hollow of Luffy's throat. His hands drew inward, landing on skin that felt subtly, unsettlingly, wrong. He heard a sharper breath, felt the movement of it and wondered if the mark was dead to sensation as many of Zoro's own scars, or if...

"Does it still hurt?"

"Does this?" Luffy said and traced a finger against the scar on his eye.

"That's different."

He thought Luffy might argue that, but after a moment's hesitation, his captain shook it off and merely laid a warm hand over Zoro's neck.

"Nah, not usually."

I'm sorry, Zoro didn't say. With his lips, he traced the deep grove of the scar, tonguemoving from whole skin to the shiny, dead brand burned into his captain. Pleas for forgiveness, laments about his failure to remain and protect, had no place here. But kisses he could allow himself, wet kisses falling on the old wound in place of useless tears. Hands that had not been there, to fight for his Captain when he needed it as never before dared to explore now, tried to give comfort. Too little, too late, but what could he do? Except keep silent regarding his greatest failure, close his heart around too bitter words.

Luffy heard him anyway.

"Hey," he murmured, pulling up Zoro, "you couldn't. Don't blame yourself."

"Should've been with you."

And the future King of Pirates, the strongest man Zoro had ever seen, shuddered and hid his face against cropped green hair.

"No," Luffy said, "no, Zoro. None of you were there. But if you'd been, if you'd gone too..."

"I won't ever lose again," he reminded Luffy. "You don't have to worry about me."

Luffy only shook his head and clung close, fingers growing white against Zoro's biceps. He allowed that strong grip, knew it was his turn to be the anchor in the storm. He hadn't been the only one starving for two years, after all. Not the only one who'd carried loneliness sharp like a blade (hot like magma) while waiting and struggling.

Only when Luffy began to wriggle beneath him again, when his hips moved with slight impatience, did Zoro take up his exploration. This time, he didn't linger on the scar, merely perfunctorily tasting its outlines, before moving on to Luffy's nipples. His mouth seeked out the tempting flesh by itself and he felt them tighten beneath his tongue, dared to bite and pull lightly.

Beneath him, Luffy hissed. The tug on his earrings became almost painful for a moment, before his partner went slack. His breath was deep and almost raspy, somewhere beyond those sounds of pain or joy that Zoro had heard from him. It seemed as if every piece strength had left him, his body completely pliable except for the little nubs – one which Zoro teased with his mouth, the other which he warmed and squeezed gently between two fingers, marveling at how the tiniest movement could cause such a deep shudder in Luffy.

As he lowered himself, gently sliding down while Luffy spread his legs and welcomed him he found another part which was far from soft. The feel of another man's sex poking against his body was odd, but not unwelcome.

Zoro had only the vaguest ideas of what to do, his own needs usually satisfied with some quick strokes in the loo. The way that Luffy shivered and twitched when he grasped him, though, made interesting images tumble through his mind and he felt himself grow harder.

The feel of Luffy in his grip was familiar enough, warm and just firm enough, a tuft of hair brushing against the side of his hand. Although...

"Please don't tell me it'll stretch if I pull now," Zoro said, eying Luffy with slight suspicion.

"Ahehe! Uhm, only if you squeeze too hard," Luffy said, managing to rise up on his elbows and glance at what Zoro was doing. "But, eh, Zoro?"

"Hn?"

He made the mistake of looking up and was caught by the stark emotion in his captain's flushed face. Once, years ago, those dark eyes had beheld him and told him Zoro that he was _chosen_. Luffy had seen straight through him and taken him away from the rotten Marine Base. But more important, he'd shown Zoro the way out of the shallows of East Blue where he'd been stuck for too long. Before he'd even heard the words 'Pirate King', before he'd beheld the boy's monstrous ability, Zoro had been caught and pulled in by those eyes, handing his destiny over without ever being quite aware of it.

Now, he sensed the eagerness and desire in them, felt his own muscles coil in readinessfor whatever Luffy might ask him, the wish to serve his captain beating an irresistibletune in his mind.

"Please, would you?" Luffy asked, licking his lips while his voice thickened with desire.

When he lifted his hips, when his eyes sank to Zoro's mouth and stared at it with a desperate fascination, his request was easy enough to follow. An order that Zoro was more than happy to obey, his mouth suddenly watering at this new possibility.

His 'Aye, captain' was muffled by Luffy's flesh, which didn't seem to bother the young pirate in the least. No, he only shouted something incomprehensible, before falling suspiciously silent. A quick glance revealed that Luffy had fallen backwards and stuffed what looked like half his fist into his mouth. Zoro chuckled evilly around his mouthful. From the feel of it, this too was appreciated. As Luffy continued to grow firmer in his mouth, to moan and thrust, it occurred to him that if he, Zoro, could dedicate the rest of his life to bringing out these noises from his captain? He'd call it a lifetime well spent.

Having some vague notion that teeth where unwelcome in the process, Zoro took a firm grip of Luffy's hips, before he carefully lowered his head, doing his best to swallow around the firmness. At least he was _very_ good at breathing through his nose...

Wanting to focus purely on the sensation of his captain so completely in his grasp, he closed his eye, allowing himself to sink into the fresh scent of Luffy's excitement. He continued until wiry hairs tickled his nose, his mouth full of Luffy, his entire being focused on the new experience.

The groan that came from Luffy might have been 'Zoro', or simply a frantic cry of need. Either way, he heard the message in it loud and clear and began moving.

It was easier than he had ever imagined; Luffy already filled so many empty places in him and to have his sex fill Zoro's mouth came naturally. He pushed down until his throat was blocked, excitement and breathlessness growing inside. Stubbornly, he waited until it neared acute discomfort, just held on and kneaded the firm thighs clenching around his head until Luffy shivered beneath and around him. Then Zoro slid up slowly, noting which strokes and patterns he had to make with his tongue to bring out the sharpest gasps and deepest groans. Again, he took Luffy deep. Pressed his nose against Luffy's pelvis and his face against warm, sweaty flesh, swallowed and hummed, teased and played his captain like a cherished instrument.

If Zoro had been in charge, he thought that he could happily have kept it up for an hour. Luffy, however, nineteen and impatient even on the best of days, soon yanked at his hair and groaned at him to hurry up.

Faster, faster, Zoro _please_; who was he to disobey?

Ah, there was the issue of teeth, at least if Luffy's yelp was any indication. But Zoro had always been a quick learner and soon discovered that letting go of his hips, so that Luffy could thrust while he opened his jaw wider, helped. With two fingers to hold Luffy's sex in place, making more use of his lips, they soon found a rhythm that fit them both. His captain's hands were a steady, pleading pressure on his head and his sounds, his scent – he filled Zoro's world.

Focus as sharp as in any swordfight, Zoro felt them nearing the place of unity they sometimes slid into during battle. When Luffy's burning intensity called to his soul, when they could move as one, nothing could stand against the Pirate King and his Swordsman. And though they had always fought well together, it was a revelation as warm as any sunlight, to find himself in the same state without any violence involved.

Their unity lasted for a few, sweet moments until Luffy howled and bucked beneath him, coming hard enough to almost push him off. Which, while very flattering, lead to Zoro's mouth filling up with gunk just when he'd been drawing a breath. Swallowing wrong, he choked and had to let go, coughing while enjoying the eye-watering sensation of something trying to go down the wrong pipe. At least it wasn't cold sea water this time.

"Warn me next time," he said once he was done coughing, wiping off his nose and lips. Blech, gooey.

Luffy hummed vaguely, but mostly just laid there, a grinning lump of bliss.

Seeing him like that, the fluttering realization that he'd caused it, made Zoro's ire melt away rapidly. He lay down next to the young man, pulling him closer; or rather, tried to.

"Hey, stop rubbering about and come here," Zoro complained when he only managed to pull out a piece of Luffy's torso, so that he looked like half a pretzel. Half a raw and doughy pretzel, judging from how much energy he appeared to have left right now. Still, with some muttering from Luffy and gentle pulling from Zoro, they managed to find a position he was fairly certain wouldn't lead to anyone (him) suddenly being hit with limbs snapping back once Luffy stopped being quite so relaxed.

"Zoro's the _best_," Luffy mumbled, rubbing his face against Zoro's arm. He'd claimed it as his pillow with the lazy self-assurance only very happy pirate captains possessed. "Mhm, where'd you learn that?"

Briefly, Zoro considered telling Luffy about how he'd spent most of a summer holding heavy things into his mouth and learning the basics of sword-swallowing... but considering how many lessons ended with him chucking up on the grass – not to mention the too angry fights he'd gotten into when some of the village kids began calling him Zoro the Wonder Dog (attempted wit that ended with three broken bones and a lecture on the responsibility of strength, respectively), it wasn't something wanted to share with Luffy right now. Not in this soft moment when he held the other man in his arms, his back and soft buttocks warm against Zoro. Not when Luffy was finally perfectly safe and present in a grip that he honestly didn't know if he would ever be able to completely release.

"Three Sword Style training," Zoro finally answered, before Luffy began wriggling too much in his curiosity**. **"But I'm much more interested in something else," he continued, pushing his hardness between Luffy's legs.

"See, I was thinking, that if you just squeeze together a bit," and Luffy obligingly did, and oh yes, that was just as nice as he'd hoped. "Ah, then I could kind of move while you just relax"

"Mhm, but what if I don't want to just relax?" Luffy said, nipping at the soft skin of his lower arm.

"Just, whatever, g'head," Zoro said, pulling him closer and shifting his hips experimentally.

He was feeling very good right now. The discomfort in his throat had passed, leaving only glorious memories of what Luffy sounded like when he came. And he was warm, just the right sort of firm, and smelled so very good in his arms. Zoro wanted things, he was discovering, loads of things he'd never considered deeply before. Some of them were more complex and vague than he felt like attempting right now, but this? Gently moving against Luffy, burying his nose against his neck and feeling his legs lock tight around Zoro's need? Oh yes, that was quite doable.

When Luffy began sucking at the fingers of his right hand, talking nonsense around the digits and probably slobbering all over him, Zoro found himself replying in turn. All kinds of half-choked idiocy escaped him, dreams and words and desires flowing out of him and finding a safe harbor against Luffy's warmth. He wasn't certain what he was saying, was even less certain if Luffy understood him, but perhaps that was for the best. Perhaps this way, those old shadows and dry, lonely nights could be left at the sunlit bottom of the sea. He wouldn't mind sailing on with only the taste of his captain's fresh sweat on his lips and his body forgetting how it was to fall asleep while shivering with exhaustion in a cold castle. No, Zoro wanted to remember only how it was to hold Luffy close, striving to become one with him. He needed to know what it was like to fall into the chasm of desire, feel Luffy arch and shiver against him, certain that they would land safely together.

When Zoro came, shaking against Luffy's back, he curled tight, tight around him and held him, a lifeline in the stormy sea.

Slowly, Zoro's breathing evened out. His grip relaxed, though he remained pressed close against the other man, while Luffy's hand on his own grew slacker. Their breathing evened out as they sank into sleep together, sticky and sweat-warm.

He had seen the jewels of the sea and in his dreams, they reappearedever more vibrant and lovely: corals grew like oranges on trees of waves and foam, black pearls gathered around a bone-white song and a pinkish school of fish swept past, like cherry blossoms glittering with hope. High above them, guiding all the different colors and turning them into a harmonious whole, flew the sun-kissed red of his captain's coat. Unstoppable and free, it fluttered in the wind and after too many nightmares and dreary days, Zoro's dream-self was finally fast enough. He broke through the surface of the cold sea, swam past the coldly grinning Jolly Roger and slid his hand beneath the elusive red of the jacket – today, not dyed in blood, today, not scorched by fire and magma – and felt Luffy's laughter bubble up through his skin, filling all the seas with joy.

TBC... (with a silly epilog)


	3. Omake

**Omake!**

_Meanwhile, the rest of the crew..._

The door clicked shut behind Zoro and Luffy, perhaps with a helpful nudge from a quickly disappeared arm.

For a few moments, you could have heard a pin fall, even Sanji's gagging sounds stopping.

"Did that just _happen_?" Usopp finally said."Did Luffy mean that he– that Zoro and he would–?"

As if the liar's question was a signal, the others began to talk, the room filling with voices at various levels of bewilderment.

"Does anyone have an idea of when they even hooked up?" Nami said, chewing her lip. "I've got an old bet with Vivi to claim, unless it turns out that they've somehow kept it secret for more than a week. In that case, you're all shutting your mouths about the entire business, got it?"

Sanji was back to making choking noises, although with slightly more wheezing groans to it. These sounded as if they might be caused by his Nami-swan and Vivi-swan discussing the shitty captain and shittier swordsman's sex life, instead of the theatrical groans he had previously tried to annoy Zoro with.

Chopper kept tugging on first Nami, then Robin, hoping for reassurance from the two (moderately) sane Strawhats that either Luffy or Zoro had the vaguest inkling about the concept of safe sex.

While Nami was too busy interrogating the others to answer, Robin calmed the little doctor by pointing out that they were bound to feel the castle shake long before either of the young men received permanent damage. At that, Sanji wailed pitifully and tried to choke himself with a pillow, necessitatingboth Brook and Chopper's involvement to save him.

Giving up on trying to get an understandable word out of the overwhelmed Franky, Usopp finally wolf-whistled to gather a bit of attention.

"Excuse me, but I think you are forgetting something very important here!" he yelled.

"First Bon Clay, then Ivankov, now the marimo! They're _after me_! They won't give up! But neither will I! I SHALL DIE A TRUE MAN!"

"Err, right, whatever you say, Sanji. But listen, guys, have you actually forgottenwhat Luffy's like when he's having a food dream? I mean one of those when he thinks he's landed on the Island of Steaks or so?"

They contemplated this for a while. For the boys, memories of Luffy's loud enthusiasm while he dreamed of giant mountains of meat hadn't faded during two years apart; you tended to remember staring at the planks above you, too tired to rise and smack the captain yet unable to sleep due to the infuriating noise. And poor Chopper! He'd learn not to sleep too close to the captain after one particular night when Luffy had stretched out and begun chewing on the nearest non-human-meaty thing.

Franky blew his nose and nodded, pulling himself together. "True, Strawhat-bro can be a bit, um, enthusiastic."

"And loud," Nami added, "sometimes even I hear him if I'm on watch."

"Yeah, exactly!" Usopp nodded seriously. He had, by necessity, become the reigning master of throwing assorted nick-knacks at Luffy to wake him up – but the captain could almost sleep through a well-aimed boot. If he was already awake and distracted...? Usopp got a headache from the mere thought.

"Then there's Zoro!" he continued miserably. "Mister 'I can keep training for hours, and I've got both an endless amount of blood and stamina', if you remember?"

Robin hid a smile. "Oh dear. And our captain made of rubber too..."

Sanji twitched, Usopp paled and even Nami looked a bit cross-eyed at the images those words called up.

"And when he's not training, Zoro spends his days sleeping," Chopper said, starting to see the numbers add up. "We've always liked that he takes so many night watches."

Usopp nodded wildly, hair and nose alike almost bouncing with eagerness. "See! But now, if those guys, uh–"

"Discover their libido and regularly engage in sexual activity with each other," Robin helpfully filled in.

"Oh god please never say those words about anyone I know again...Well, yeah, that!" Face a perfect mask of despair, Usopp clenched his hands and dramatically proclaimed: "If we don't do something, _we are never going to sleep again_!"

"I'll kill 'em?" Sanji suggested, a slightly deranged grin gracing his features.

"..."

"While I'm certain we all appreciate the offer in the spirit it's given, I do believe it might be easier to simply install an extra bed in the crow's nest?" Brook suggested. "We still have one day before we were planning to leave Fishman Island."

"Oh, all right!" Nami said, feeling the weight of Chopper and Usopp's combined woe-us-who-will-get-no-sleep looks. "Franky, buy whatever you need and get it fixed tomorrow."

"Cheap bedding, but a sturdy frame, I think," Franky said, bringing out a pencil. "And an easy to repair, fold-out construction."

"I'm sure it'll turn out great. But now, can someone please tell me when they hooked up? I've got belies riding on this!"

"During dinner today," Robin said, finally taking pity on Nami.

"Really?" Nami perked up at those words and rubbed her hands. "Hehe, that'll cover at least one year of albatross mail magazines!"

"But really, you should be thanking our shipwright an– "

"Eh?"

"Franky, what did you do?"

"YOU SHITTY SHITHEAD!"

"Whoa, cool it, Sanji-bro! I didn't do anything!" Ducking an improvised and slightly wobbly kick, Franky grabbed the agitated young man and threw him on the bed. "Besides, I'm practically innocent. You're the one who inspired Zoro, amiright, Robin-sis?"

"Considered in a certain light, hmm, yes I suppose so."

While Sanji shuddered and began foaming at the mouth and Chopper shrieked for a doctor, Robin sat down and enjoyed the sight of her crewmates being so lively together.

Beside her, Brook settled. "Young love is a fine thing indeed, don't you agree, Miss Robin?"

She nodded and obligingly gave Chopper a hand when he tried to force some water into Sanji.

"And they have grown into such handsome young men, our Captain and our Swordsman. Why, if I weren't but dry bones, I might myself get a bo–"

Ka-flumpf!

"Don't even go there!" Nami howled and hefted another pillow to follow the one that had gotten Brook right in the afro. "If I hear one perverted skull-joke out of you, I'll throw you overboard myself, see if I don't!"

"Yohohoho! I accept thy challenge!"

The next morning, when Princess Shirahoshi inquired about the loud shrieks and thumps that had come from the Strawhat's wing of the palace, Nami was quite relieved to be able to inform her that it was _only_ a pillow-fight gone slightly out of control.

Nevertheless, she made sure to distract the innocent princess before she asked about the smattering of bruises that had 'mysteriously' reappeared on Luffy. There were things she just wasn't paid enough to explain.

**/The End**

(Ps. Feedback much appreciated)


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